A blog for the love of cycling, bicycles, the beautiful countryside around me.

Friday, 8 May 2015

Seeking out climbs

A sunny evening so of course I took the chance to cycle up to Mum's for a brew.
Maternity leave means no cycle commuting, which is the basis of my cycling fitness. Round here it's a bit hilly and it's the hill climbing fitness that I don't want to loose. So on my opportunities to ride, I'm picking the steeper hills on each route.

And last night's beautiful weather was an ideal opportunity to take the extra scenic route from one side of town to the other and back.
Happily in spite of significantly reduced cycling, I got up all the hills no problem. In fact two actually felt easier than usual. Perhaps my legs are less fatigued now I'm not cycling every single day or perhaps all those hills (the really steep ones) that I avoid when I'm traversing town during busier hours on the roads, have become less steep when I compare them to the routes I choose for days out exploring.

It was lovely to go this way again. I usually pick the most direct route to save time- on work days that is because my daily commute is already 30 miles all together and the fact that I need to pop to mum's most days means I choose to go through the town centre and save time for practical reasons.

But this way is far more lovely, the extra hills do mean nicer views and it means pedalling away from the town centre out towards the fields.
There is a field of horses who always come up to say 'hello' and I always oblige and stop to pet them; it's ideal as this is just before a section of freewheeling. And it's the ideal place to text Stephen to put the kettle on before the last drag.

No matter which way I go, there is always a big climb to get home.
But there is always a cup of tea waiting for me when I get through the door.

Round here you can't avoid them and I do love them, but there are some very stiff climbs that I just avoid when I'm doing routes on a daily basis, especially when I'm mostly riding at commuter times;the route last night is on mostly single track twisty lanes - much nicer to save them for when you know it's going to be quieter and you can really enjoy yourself.Yes, most hills do become flatter, but not all! There is one near home that I can never do- but whether that's because whenever i try, a car always comes so I pull in to let it go by (its very narrow) and then I just cant get going again even in the lowest gear. I dislike it in the car too.